Russian IT forms among Europe's best

Five Russian companies are among the fastest growing IT firms in Europe, according to a survey by Deloitte. It claims the number of Russian companies in the list will continue to grow.

The results came despite the companies being required to produce internationally-recognised financial results and proof of transparency – something Russian companies are unaccustomed to

The survey found that Russia's education system is one of the main factors in the continuing growth of its high-tech sector. Deloitte looked carefully at the national education systems in each country, and whether they're capable of producing graduates with enough skills and experience.

Most of the IT companies surveyed are confident in their country's education system: 40% said they were very successful, 38% said they were more than adequate, 14% were fairly satisfied and only 8% felt education was failing the IT sector.

The Russian government attaches special importance to developing the IT sector and has instigated a set of measures to support the industry. It has set up high-tech parks, created an investment fund for information and communication technologies and also introduced a favourable tax regime for IT companies.

Experts believe there will be a boom in IT share flotations in 2007, but investing in this relatively young and inexperienced sector remains risky.